Lighthouse was designed as a collaborative effort between the Osean Federation and multiple Usean countries. The structure's primary objective is to transmit solar energy collected in the atmosphere and distribute it to power plants on Earth. This energy is used to help Usea's reconstruction following the damage from Ulysses 1994XF04's impact that still plagues the continent.[2]

In 2019, the Kingdom of Erusea captured Lighthouse and declared war on Osea, believing that Osea aimed to use Lighthouse to take control of the Usean continent.[2]

Contents

Design

Lighthouse's cables reaching into space past the Main Shaft

Lighthouse's blueprints

The International Space Elevator is 100,000 km (~62,137 miles) long from the base on Earth to the top of its cables in space.[3] The structure is connected to Selatapura by a long bridge that leads into the main entrance. From there, anyone entering the space elevator must pass through a Medical Quarantine Area before gaining access to the passenger elevator, the living quarters, or the main elevator. The main elevator—the central pillar that connects to space via cables—is surrounded by a Main Shaft supporting the structure on Earth. At the bottom of the main shaft are two horizontal shafts that connect to four Posture Control Systems to maintain the space elevator's posture.[4]

Satellites with solar panels in geosynchronous orbit collect solar energy and convert it into microwaves. These satellites then transmit microwaves to the space elevator, which sends the microwaves to the surface of Earth. Power facilities underneath the space elevator's central base distribute the collected energy to Usean countries.[2]

History

Ulysses impact

Ulysses 1994XF04 caused massive damage to Usea after its planetfall in July 1999, killing over half a million civilians and turning countless others into refugees in only two weeks.[5][6] Usea's infrastructure was severely affected, especially Erusea's; the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs said in 2003 that "our land suffered the most damage and chaos of the entire continent."[7] The ensuing refugee crisis led to the 2003–2005 Continental War, further ravaging the continent.[8]

In 2008, Osea invited the Federation of Central Usea and Erusea's new provisional government to the G7 Summit on the Arkbird. Among other topics, representatives from these and other countries discussed solutions to Usea's ongoing refugee crisis and remaining damage from Ulysses. They reached an agreement to collaborate on these issues, and the Federation of Central Usea even announced its participation in Osea's international space station project.[9]

Proposal and construction

Lighthouse at sunset

By the mid-2010s, Usea's infrastructure still hadn't recovered from the Ulysses impacts. To solve the issue, Osea offered to jointly develop a space elevator in the continent. As a leader in space development, Osea would cover the initial investment costs and supply the technology to build the structure. Its solar power production would provide much-needed energy to help reconstruction efforts across the continent. The Usean countries welcomed the proposal and began to build the space elevator in Gunther Bay. Construction officially began in 2011; at the time, it was the largest joint international project since the Ulysses impact.[2]

Lighthouse War

Speculation arose in some political circles that Osea was aiming to use the space elevator to take control of the Usean continent. Erusea's officials in particular harbored animosity towards Osea.[2]

In 2019, a terrorist attack took place in Osea performed by unmanned drones. Erusea simultaneously occupied Lighthouse and its surrounding facilities. The country officially declared war on Osea, aiming to fight Osea's excessive interference and resource monopoly in Usea.[2]